1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vest, such as a bullet and shrapnel resistant vest worn by military personnel, which vest can be rapidly doffed by the wearer. The vest can be quickly donned.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Military and paramilitary body armor has developed primarily through numerous wars and has included such innovations and stages as chain mail and full metal armor for knights. More recent versions began with the “flack jackets” worn by World War II bomber crews. Besides those in the air, United States troops on the ground began wearing armor in the latter stages of the Viet Nam War. This body armor had numerous disadvantages including the armor's weight, its restriction of movement, its discomfort from heat and its lack of providing protection for portions of the trunk of the body. Recent years have seen tremendous improvements in materials and design that have resulted in several improvements in the body armor, especially in the amount of protection provided and the relative comfort increase for those wearing such armor. The improvements herein continue in this direction.
A body armor vest in wide use is the clam shell vest with cummerbund. This design uses a rear plate that covers the back with the opposing ends of a cummerbund attached to respective opposing sides of the rear plate, the medial section of the cummerbund being removably attachable to itself to effect sizing about the torso of the wearer. A front plate is attached to the rear plate by having shoulder straps on the front plate removably attach to the rear plate via the use of cooperating hook and loop material (including the newer dart and hook) and side panels of the front plate removably attached to the cummerbund, again with cooperating hook and loop material.
Although a marked improvement over to previous generations of body armor, the basic clam shell design still has certain limitations for which further improvements continue to be needed. Oftentimes, the body armor needs to be shed quickly by the wearer. For example, when an explosion occurs near a vehicle, an occupant may have need to quickly exit the vehicle, especially if the vehicle is on fire. If any part of the vest is not capable of extraction from the vehicle or parts thereof, the wearer must shed the vest to escape injury from secondary sources as well as to get into the fight if necessary. If the wearer cannot escape the vehicle in a timely manner due to the vest being caught, such a person can be injured or killed or may not be able to help support his or her fellow soldiers in the fight against the enemy. When a wearer of a vest is wounded, medics generally need to remove the vest to effect treatment. Sooner removal is invariably better than later. Delays in vest removal oftentimes result in higher casualties among the (already) wounded as well as the medics.
As many body armor suits are made from an incredibly strong material, simply cutting the vest off of a wounded soldier is not practical, the armor must have a secondary ability for quick removal. Ideally, the vest should be able to be quickly and easily reassembled in order to be donned by the wearer for continued protection.
Many battlefields are found in warm and hot climates or in cold climates. Wearing of vests in warm and hot climates, while offering protection from projectiles, can result in early exhaustion, heat prostration, and dehydration for the wearer. Cold climates also cause problems for the soldier. These conditions reduce effectiveness of the wearer and sometimes result in a soldier needing medical attention or even in the death of the soldier.
Present vests offer numerous “tie-down” points for carrying and retaining supplies such as fighting load components, including ammunition pouches, grenade pouches, hydration systems, etc., or medical supplies, communication supplies, etc. However, the time required to utilize these tie-down points reduces the wearer's effectiveness. A system is needed whereby the wearer can quickly replace equipment and supplies while having them readily available when needed.
A body armor vest is needed that addresses the above-mentioned shortcomings found in the art. Specifically, such a body armor vest must be quickly and easily doffed by the wearer so that if a wearer needs to extricate himself or herself from a situation wherein the vest inhibits such extrication, the vest is shed, allowing the fighter to escape, or in the case of a wounded soldier, the body armor can be quickly removed in order to allow medical personal to administer treatment as soon as possible. Additionally, such a vest should provide for keeping a wearer relatively cool in warm climate conditions and warm in cold climates. Furthermore, such a vest should provide tie-down points on the vest which points can carry and retain needed equipment and supplies which retention system allows for quick removal from and reattachment to the vest of the needed equipment and supplies.
Such a vest must be utilizable with various body armor configurations including the basic body armor outer tactical vest, with or without yoke and collar, as well as other body protectors including throat protectors, groin protectors, etc. The vest should have the ability to carry enhanced small arms protective inserts and enhanced ballistic inserts and carriers. The vest must not impede soldier tasks including the operation of individual weapons such as a rifle, grenade launcher, and pistol, must not impede the operation of crew served weapons, nor impede the ability to throw fragmentation and smoke grenades. Such a vest must allow for safe operation, ingress, and emergency egress of combat vehicles including the M1A1 Abrams Tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and an Armored Security Vehicle as well as tactical vehicles such as the Up Armored HMMWV. Such a vest should be able to provide for a tailored capability to incorporate modular extremity protection system components for the shoulder such as the Deltoid Auxiliary Protection System as well as arm and leg protection.